The Story of Metal Gear, Part 6:
Snake Eater
The 6th game in the Metal Gear Series, as of yet unreleased anywhere else but in the United States, with the Japanese release pending and the European release in March 2005. The production is once again by Konami and the writer/director/producer is once more Kojima Hideo, who swore after MGS2 that that was his last Metal Gear.
About the content, rumors abound. We know that the game is set in the past, so it seems certain that we will not play Solid Snake himself, unless they develop a "time machine" in the game context. All signs point to the main character being the first Foxhound member to bear the callsign Snake, Big Boss himself, perhaps before he turned into the super villain/genetic blueprint/plot device we know him to be in the earlier games. Also appearing will be a member of the soviet Speznaz special forces Ocelot group (guess who), and a young soldier that bears a strong resemblance to Raiden from MGS 2. Watching the trailers closely also reveals that it will take place in or near the Soviet Union, so we are looking at Cold War era political intrigue or espionage, at least for part of the game. The tech and weapons will be "downgraded" to systems that might have been available to covert operatives in the era.
Hungry for some snake?
The game will mainly take place in a jungle environment, free from the constrictions of former games that were limited to building complexes only. There will be countless new elements of play, for example you will have to hunt for food instead of collecting rations, climb trees, be able to use camouflage and boobytraps. It will use the possibilities of the Playstation 2 to the fullest and if it is anything like the trailer, we can look forward to a killer of a game - it`s absolutely gorgeous.
Contrary to previous announcements, Kojima Hideo has decided to write and direct this new game as well, so we can look forward to a lot of backstabbing and innovative ideas as well. Why he decided to make a prequel first, instead of continuing the storyline remains a mystery to this point, but we may be surprised yet.
The game seems to be out in the states early, but as I don`t own a US playstation, I´ll have to wait for the japanese release in the middle of December 2005 to play the game. I will keep you posted on any news and provide a full plotline as with the other games hardlinked below as soon as I have it. Until then, happy sneaking.
Official Metal Gear Games List:
Metal Gear - Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake - (Metal Gear: Ghost Babel)
Metal Gear Solid (see also Twin Snakes) - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Substance) - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear AC!D